Bryan Schwartzman

Your rabbi needs your help." Congregants of Adath Israel in Merion Station received this message in an email -- with a link to a YouTube clip -- sent out about a month before the start of the High Holidays. In the video, Rabbi Eric Yanoff, seated at his desk, asks his congregants for ideas to incorporate into his Yom Kippur...

With the rain soaked Labor Day weekend officially in the rearview mirror, Republicans and Democrats looking to woo Jewish voters have gone into overdrive -- with Philadelphia a primary target. In Charlotte, N.C., Jewish delegates to the Democratic National Convention attended a Jewish outreach strategy session that focused on seven states, including Pennsylvania. Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro, a convention...

At least two dozen local Jews will head to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., next week to to vote for a party platform that includes an endorsement of same-sex marriage - just one of several stark contrasts to the GOP's position on social issues.

Yaron Sideman, a 17-year veteran of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, settled into Philadelphia this week to begin his post as Consul General of Israel to the Mid-Atlantic Region, joining new deputy Elad Strohmayer.

Elad Strohmayer is no stranger to American Jewry. Before joining the foreign service in 2010, the new deputy consul general in Philadelphia worked for the Jewish Agency for Israel in Jerusalem, overseeing Israeli counselors who work in Jewish summer camps in the United States and Canada. Strohmayer said that position gave him insight into the complex array of Jewish groups...

Profile

Bryan Schwartzman has been reporting on the Jewish community of Philadelphia since 2003. After 10 years as a staff writer, he now occasionally freelances for the Exponent. He writes about trends in politics, religion and spirituality, philanthropy and sometimes dabbles in sports and the arts.

He has received numerous awards from the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Journalists, the Jewish American Press Association and other organizations.

A native New Yorker, he earned a master’s degree in modern Jewish history and literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He is also a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.